Helplessness

                                Throughout this novel there are moments where the characters feel as if they do not have control over their own actions, or what happens to them throughout their lives.  The feeling of not being able to make decisions for yourself and be treated differently can be damaging to one's self-esteem. Hassan is the one character in this book who suffers the most. He is a Hazara boy, and when one is Hazarian they are considered the lower class in Afghanistan.  Hassan cannot do anything about the fact that he is Hazarian, therefore he is extremely helpless when being bullied by Assef and his friends, who represents evil and all that is bad. I believe Assef should be represented as evil because of the cruel act he did to Hassan. When Hassan is raped, this will destroy any hope for Baba's affection. He is upset because he know he cannot change his past, and he feels like if he says something it will dishonour Baba and his family. I believe the act of rape as being a form of evil. In our very first lecture, we discussed the different ways we deal with evil. Number 4 was "Sometimes we don't respond at all or respond inadequately." I found this as a great connection with the sexual abuse Hassan endured. This represents a big part of Hassan's life and affected him very much on the inside, yet he did not show how he was feeling on the outside. He chose to ignore what had happened to him and continue life as nothing happened. This being very hard on Hassan, he was silenced of this moment forever. Amir compares the rape of Hassan to a sheep being sacrificed for its life. The sheep dies, and a part of Hassan that day died as well. Watching Hassan's eyes when he is being raped reminds Amir of the feared look in the sheep's eyes when he was being sacrificed. Hassan was being sacrificed that day for Amir, his good friend. In our text, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, I found many meanings behind the various symbols found in The Kite Runner. I found that sheep meant "Blind and unintelligent following; helplessness." (p.151)  I believe this is a perfect underlying meaning to this work because proven in this novel, Hassan is indeed helpless when being raped.